Summer Diet, Portuguese Monk-style

July 18, 2016

In one of the seven wonders of Portugal and UNESCO World Heritage site, the Mosteiro de Alcobaça (Alcobaça Monastery), lies the secret to getting that beach-body we all want. In the 18th century, the monks who lived there developed a reputation for over-eating. And as we all know, gluttony is a deadly sin. So they came up with a simple and very effective solution to combat excessive weight. It doesn’t involve pills, disgusting cleanses or exercise, and – best of all – you can do it too.

There was only one rule and one catch to it. The rule: each monk had to go into the kitchen to get their own meal (you couldn’t get it for someone else). The catch: to get to and from the kitchen, you needed to pass through a door that was 2 meters (6′ 6″) high and 32 cm (1′ 1/2″) wide. If you couldn’t pass, you weren’t allowed to eat those meals until you lost enough weight, which, needless to say, they did very quickly!

The Porta Pega-gordo, as it’s called, measures 2 m by 32 cm

The monks belonged to the Cistercian order, who were farmers and ate what they produced. Apparently, they did such a great job that they had to resort to this simple tactic to keep their weight in check.

Who needs trendy Paleo diets or tree sap juice when you can just walk through a door? To visit the Monastery and see this door, amongst many other treasures, check out this website.